Vitamin D: Sunshine and So Much More
(Page 3 of 6)
February/March 2008
By Linda B. White, M.D.
Cardiovascular disease. In addition to cancer and bone disease, vitamin D may also be healthy for your heart. Vitamin D levels are inversely associated with the risk of high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Exposing people with high blood pressure to ultraviolet light has been shown to improve the condition.
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Asthma. Preliminary studies show that vitamin D also may help alleviate respiratory problems, such as asthma. According to one study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, children of mothers with lower intakes of vitamin D during pregnancy are more likely to develop asthma.
Autoimmune disorders. Vitamin D reduces inflammation and plays a role in the maturation of the immune system. Deficiency is common in autoimmune diseases where the immune system attacks normal cells, such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS). Emerging research shows that vitamin D may have a preventive effect. One study examined two large groups of women for 10 years and found a reduced risk of MS was associated with vitamin D supplementation. A study of Finnish children taking 2,000 IU a day (10 times the current recommendation) showed they had a decreased risk of developing type l diabetes. In an analysis of the Iowa Women’s Health Study, women consuming higher levels of vitamin D showed a reduced risk for rheumatoid arthritis.
Mental health. Psychiatrist John Cannell, M.D., founder of the nonprofit Vitamin D Council, says that vitamin D may contribute to several emotional disorders. In a study of elderly people, mood and cognitive skills deteriorated with lower levels of D. Cannell points out that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression whose onset follows the waning daylight of autumn and winter. An Australian study found that vitamin D supplements lifted the mood of people with SAD.
How to Get Enough D
Expose yourself. Your skin can tackle much of your vitamin D needs. If you’re young, fair, scantily clad and near the equator, 10 to 15 minutes of peak sunshine produces 20,000 IUs.
However, Hollis says a dark-skinned person requires 10 times that exposure to make an equivalent amount of D. And a 70-year-old person makes only a quarter of the vitamin D that a 20-year-old can produce. During the fall and winter in higher latitudes (above 37 degrees latitude — San Francisco is just above 37 degrees), the levels of UVB fall below the threshold needed for even a fair-skinned person to produce enough vitamin D. Additionally, complete cloud coverage cuts UV energy in half, and shade reduces it by 60 percent.
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